Golden
by Fantastic Nonsense
Summary: 'It doesn't hurt at first. It feels wonderful, all that glorious golden power rippling though her veins.' Rose, during Parting of the Ways. Spoilers!


I always wanted to do a POTW fic, but I never really had the inspiration. Guess what?

I FOUND MY INSPIRATION!

Aren't you proud of me? Especially 'cause of school and homework and extracericular activites and all that junk, I'm surprised I even had the time or energy to write.

I'm realitively proud of this piece. It honestly didn't turn out the way I thought it was going to, but I think it turned out well anyway. I also never thought I'd write the 9th Doctor, although he's not really _in here_ in here, just really in passing.

What do you think?

~Aubrey

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! (Please?)

* * *

_Golden_

'_I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words…I scatter them, through time and space. A message…to lead myself here.'_

It doesn't hurt at first. It feels wonderful, all that glorious golden power rippling through her veins. She can hardly see, and what little she can see is obscured by a hazy golden glow. Bits and pieces run through her head, whispering to her the wonderful and terrifying secrets of the universe.

She is the Bad Wolf. The small part of her that is still Rose would laugh aloud, if she could. All that time, it was a message, not a warning. It was telling her what she had to do and giving her the strength and determination to do it.

She faintly hears him telling her something. The Wolf replies, not her. She has no control over her body anymore.

'_I want you safe. My Doctor, protected from the false god.'_

An electric blue ray comes at her, and she stops it with her hand. She laughs scornfully inside; did they really think one measly little Dalek ray could hurt her? She distantly sees a vibrant glow illuminate around her as the Wolf turns the Daleks to dust. A low hum resonates from her, and all she can hear is the beautiful and soothing song of the TARDIS. The song runs through her, giving her the strength to destroy the battleships.

All she knows is the singing. And it is the most wonderful sound she has ever heard.

'_Everything must come to dust. All things, everything dies.'_

She feels no pain, and the glow permeates her skin and shows her images. She sees memories, images, and names, but sometimes all she knew were words. She sees the Doctor's past, all the pain and suffering he'd already been through. She watches silently as previous companions parade in front of her eyes. Names come to her: Susan, Ian, Barbara, Sarah Jane, Romana, Adric, Ace, Nyssa, Tegan, and many others. Then, she sees herself and Jack.

She sees what is to happen, and she would weep if she could. As it was, a single tear makes its way down the Wolf's cheek. There was such heartbreak in store for the Doctor and Rose; it shouldn't have to be that way. She could change it, she knew she could. Just one little ripple in time, and they'd be together forever.

She sees their future adventures together, all the marvelous things they would see together and the pain they would endure. She sees herself leave; not of her own free will, but she leaves nonetheless.

Names and faces flicker by once more; An African-American named Martha, a smart-aleck redhead called Donna. A flirty ginger, Amy, and her boyfriend and later husband, Rory. She sees flashes of River and her future with him. All the things her human self wanted so badly. The Rose in her feels jealous as she watches their relationship progress through the Doctor's lifetimes. Eventually, when she knows just what River is to him, it breaks her heart. She moves on.

Then, she feels pain slowly creeping through her head. It starts at the base of her temples, and then works its way until her head is positively burning. She vaguely sees the bright blaze surrounding her, encasing her in a golden cocoon of light. She feels nothing as her senses travel beyond the room. She feels detached from the rest of the world.

She sees Jack, slumped by the wall outside Floor 500, lying lifeless on the ground. Another tear forces its way down her blazing cheek. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, she wouldn't bestow Jack's 'gift' on anyone, much less him. Immortality was a curse, not a blessing.

'_I bring life.'_

She sees him sit up, hears his gasp, and feels his bewilderment. She turns her attention to the man in front of her, who was currently pleading with her. She almost laughs. Give up her power? Never. Why should she?

Her eyes are gleaming with yellow lightning, and her knees feel weak. Rose states icily from her place in the corner of her mind,_ 'You're burning up. You need to let go, Wolf. We've saved him.'_

But she can't. She doesn't know how, for one. But then she thinks of all the things she could do.

She could save so many people with this gift. She could save worlds and countless people. But the Rose in her, the tiny, minute part that was left, argued that no human should have this kind of power. No one should. It should go back in the TARDIS, she says with finality. The Wolf shakes her head emphatically to her. _No. I will not._

'_But this is wrong! You can't control life and death!'_

_Oh, can't I?_ She thinks, amused_. I believe I just have_. The throbbing has spread throughout her body now, and if her body hadn't been a living conduit for the time vortex itself, she would have been shivering and shaking with exhaustion and pain. Why did it hurt? It shouldn't.

_'But I can. The sun and the moon, the day and night... but why do they hurt?'_

She is burning; she is the Bad Wolf. A star, a beacon in the night to help the Doctor heal. She is his saving grace, his angel in a living hell. She made him better, now he can do the same for her. The light dances along the walls, swirling around her like she'd been born with this awesome power.

'_I can see everything... all that is... all that was... all that ever could be.'_

And she truly can. She can see all things, good and bad. The pain is almost unbearable and she is crying more tears now, almost unconsciously. Her hand drops to her side as the outcome of this runs through her head. _No!_

She cannot give up this power, she can't! But the ache is overwhelming, stifling any efforts to move. As it is, she can barely get any speech at all past her numb lips.

'_My head…'_

He doesn't answer her the way she expects; instead, he just leans towards her and smiles slightly.

'_Come here. I think you need a Doctor.'_

She gratefully goes to him, and he envelops her in his arms and gently kisses her. She feels the vortex leaving, and begins to feel faint. This is not in her plan. She doesn't want the power gone, but she knows it has to go or she will die. She will literally burn up.

She begins to waver on her feet, and the Bad Wolf is slowly driven down into the very depths of Rose's soul, Rose once again becoming herself. Her golden eyes slowly return to their normal chocolate hue. The dim around her body dims more with each passing second, and she knows she will soon pass out.

And the very last thing Rose sees, before her eyes flicker shut and the vast blackness consumes her is her Doctor, breathing out the vortex back into its rightful place; the heart of the TARDIS.

For one glorious moment, Rose Tyler was a goddess. She experienced the whole of time and space; she destroyed an entire army of Daleks. She achieved the impossible and saved the universe. She will never remember it, but he will. He will remember a goddess in spirit and body, and he will never, ever forget. Years after she is gone, taken from him, he remembers how, for just one moment, the world shone with the radiance of one human girl.

She was the Bad Wolf.

And for one moment, just one moment, she was truly a luminous being.

For one moment, she was golden.


End file.
